The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has broken away from the Moscow Patriarchate, but is still accused of being close to Russia. Many people now want to break with tradition and celebrate Christmas in December too.
Today Orthodox Christmas is celebrated in Ukraine for the second time. There are two Orthodox churches in the country: The Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OKU), which was newly formed in 2018, celebrates Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar on December 25th. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOK) continues to celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar on January 7th, as in Russia.
Until the major Russian attack, the UOK was subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate. It only officially broke away from Moscow in May 2022, three months after the major invasion.
Investigations against UOK representatives for espionage
Russian propaganda in UOK churches did not stop there – on the contrary. The Ukrainian secret service SBU and the public prosecutor’s office are investigating numerous UOK priests, including for spying for Russia or for justifying the Russian war of aggression.
The latter is also accused of the abbot of the famous Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, Metropolitan Pavlo. He has been under house arrest for several months. President Volodymyr Zelensky would like to have the UOK banned. But this is constitutionally problematic, experts say.
Russian propaganda in the church
Believers also apparently hear Moscow propaganda in church services at the Pokrovsky Holosiivsky Monastery in Kiev. One of the monks says the church will be full on January 7th. He describes the Christmas message for believers as follows: “We pray that God will let the people of our president and our representatives understand that they are ending the war with an agreement. They should sit down at the negotiating table.”
The Ukrainian leadership has formulated a so-called peace formula and preconditions for talks with Russia. This includes, among other things, the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the country. Moscow doesn’t want to negotiate at all, but has been bombarding Ukraine with missiles, drones, artillery, occupation and annexation for almost two years.
“The USA and Europe do not allow President Zelenskyj anything and the people understand that very well,” says the Orthodox UOK monk. The West is to blame for the war and Selenksyj is just its puppet, goes the churchman’s undisguised and typically Russian propaganda.
UOK has long since declared itself independent of Moscow
Cell phones must be turned off during church services. There is only a connection to God, it says in Ukrainian at the Christmas-decorated entrance to the monastery church. Another sign is written in Church Slavonic style and warns that cell phones that ring could be taken away and thrown into holy water.
“It just happened that I came to the service at the Kyiv Pokrovsky Holosiivsky Monastery,” says Svetlana, who has just come from church. She doesn’t understand the service in Old Church Slavonic, but she loves the spiritual energy of the place. It is not true that the Ukrainian Orthodox Church would still adhere to the Moscow Patriarchate, as it is not stated in any documents, she repeats. A well-known position of the UOK. This claims that it has been independent of the Moscow Patriarchate for decades and not just since May 2022.
“Cell phones must be turned off,” is written in Ukrainian and Church Slavonic style at the entrance to the church in the Pokrovsky Holosiivsky monastery in Kiev.
“Wherever there are people, there are also bad ones,” says Svetlana. “Be it in the Ukrainian secret service SBU or other organs. I don’t think you should fight an entire church because of this.”
Since the major Russian attack, around 800 congregations have left the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church” (UOK) and became members of the younger “Orthodox Church in Ukraine” (OKU), which preaches in Ukrainian. The UOK, which has long been part of the Moscow Patriarchate is still the larger of the two Orthodox churches in Ukraine, with almost 8,200 churches in the Ukrainian-controlled area of the country alone.
“We celebrate in December and January”
Not far from the Pokrovsky Holosiivsky Monastery, Inessa Hrytsaenko warms up to the snow-white piano in her small apartment. She lives upstairs and has often witnessed Russian attacks from there. The young musician scored a mini-hit some time ago with “In Peaceful Kiev”.
Hrytsaenko already celebrated Christmas on December 25th because for her it is a turn to Europe. But January 7th is still emotionally important to her. That’s why she goes to church that day, she says. “Part of my family celebrates according to the new traditions in December and part on January 7th. My father is a soldier and was given leave from the front for January 7th.”
On January 7th, as is traditional at Christmas, she puts twelve dishes on the table – including Kutja, a sweet wheat porridge with nuts, dried fruits, honey and poppy seeds. However, Hrytsaenko emphasizes that being together is the most important thing to her.
Musician Inessa Hrytsaenko celebrates Christmas in December and January. For them it is above all a family celebration.
Less trust in Christian churches
In principle, Christian churches have lost their reputation in Ukrainian society. This was the result of a survey by the opinion research institute KIIS from the end of November 2023 in the Ukrainian-controlled areas of the country. Around 30 percent of those surveyed distrust the church, around six percent more than in 2022.
According to observers, the background could be the dispute over the UOK and the accusation against it of supporting the Russian side. When it comes to trust, the Ukrainian army came first in the survey with 96 percent, followed by army chief Valery Salushny, the volunteer movement, President Zelensky, the secret service and the police. However, behind the Christian churches were the Ukrainian government, mass media, courts and prosecutors.
Andrea Beer, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, January 6th, 2024 11:56 p.m